Rude Copper
Rude Copper
Unsigned Print
Banksy
58 x 42cm, Edition of 250, Screenprint, 2002
£10,500-£16,000
$20,000-$30,000 Market Value Indicator
$19,000-$30,000 Market Value Indicator
¥100,000-¥150,000 Market Value Indicator
€12,000-€18,000 Market Value Indicator
$110,000-$170,000 Market Value Indicator
¥2,240,000-¥3,410,000 Market Value Indicator
$14,000-$22,000 Market Value Indicator
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Meaning & Analysis
Released in a unsigned edition of 30 screen-prints in 2002, Banksy's Rude Copper depicts a British policeman flipping the bird, signalling the artist's contempt for police, particularly in light of the 2000 Terrorism Act's extension of their stop-and-search powers.
The policeman is captured from the waist up and appears to be swearing at the viewer of the print. The policeman is rendered using a stencil and black and white spray paint, a characteristic feature of Banksy’s artistic style.
Banksy started producing freehand graffiti in Bristol, where he grew up, however the artist adopted the stencil method in the 1990s as it was quicker and simpler and meant he could reduce the risks of being caught by the police. Rude Copper is steeped in irony and captures how Banksy uses humour in his artworks to critique the establishment, capitalism and modern warfare. Many of Banksy’s artworks, such as his graffiti murals in public spaces, are illegal and have to be produced anonymously to avoid the artist being penalised. In this print, Banksy pokes fun at the police who have been unable to catch him and punish him for his illegal artworks.
Banksy often depicts police officers in his artworks. A notable example is the performance piece from 2001 in which the artist hired an actor dressed in a police uniform to spray ‘crime pays’ on a wall in Hackney while being photographed by the artist.
